PI Manpower Placements Inc vs NLRC : 97369 : July 31, 1997 : J. M... 1 of 6 http://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/jurisprudence/1997/jul1997/97369.htm SECOND DIVISION [G.R. No. 97369. July 31, 1997] P.I. MANPOWER PLACEMENTS INC., petitioner, vs. NATIONAL LABOR RELATIONS COMMISSION (SECOND DIVISION), and NORBERTO CUENTA, SR., respondents. DECISION MENDOZA, J.: This is a petition for certiorari and prohibition to set aside the decision of the NLRC, affirming the decision of the POEA dated April 20, 1990 which held petitioner P.I. Manpower Placements Inc., LPJ Enterprises Inc. (now ADDISC Enterprises Inc.) and foreign employer Al Jindan Contracting and Trading Establishment jointly and solidarily liable to private respondent Norberto Cuenta, Sr., for the sum of US$10,560.00 representing his unpaid salaries and the unexpired portion of his contract, as well as the resolution of the NLRC denying reconsideration. The facts of the case, as found by the NLRC, are as follows: On September 29, 1988, private respondent Norberto Cuenta, Sr., applied to petitioner P.I. Manpower Placements Inc. (P.I. Manpower) for overseas employment as trailer driver. Danny Alonzo, representing himself as an agent of petitioner, accompanied Cuenta to the office of Teresita Rivera, Operations Manager of petitioner. Cuenta was asked to submit his BLT certificate, secure a valid passport, undergo medical examination and pay a placement fee of P10,800.00. Teresita Rivera wrote the Bureau of Land Transportation in behalf of Cuenta to facilitate issuance of the BLT certificate. When the requirements were almost complete, Rivera, in an urgent letter dated October 27, 1988, told Cuenta to come to her office as soon as possible. For lack of funds, private respondent reported only on November 5, 1988 and made a partial payment of P3,000.00. Rivera allowed Cuenta to pay the balance of P7,800.00 later. Thereafter, she issued a receipt and made Cuenta sign in blank the Agency-Worker Agreement, assuring Cuenta that the terms and conditions of his employment as agreed would be stated in the contract, particularly Cuentas salary at $440.00 a month. On November 20, 1988, private respondent was advised of his flight to Dharan, Saudi Arabia. Accordingly, on November 23, 1988, he paid the balance of P7,800.00, although no receipt was issued to him even after he had left. It was when he was already on the plane that he was able to read his employment papers as the same were handed to him by Rivera only before he boarded the plane. To his surprise, Cuenta found out that his deploying agent was LPJ Enterprises, not P.I. Manpower, and that his monthly salary was SR960.00, and not $440.00, which was less than what he and Teresita Rivera had agreed. Upon arriving in Dharan, Saudi Arabia, Cuenta was assigned by Al Jindan Contracting and Trading Establishment (Al Jindan) to drive a trailer. He was later informed that he would receive an allowance of SR200.00 for the first two months but none in the third, because he was on probation. On March 23, 1989, without prior notice and investigation Cuenta was dismissed and told to pack up and surrender his working permit (Iguama). After arriving home in the Philippines, he immediately saw a certain Mr. Depsi, owner of P.I. 1/24/2016 9:50 PM